Sewed Together
by Writer-of-fandoms
Summary: “He hates cats and tries to keep me out, but he can’t of course.” He puffed up his chest proudly. “I come and go as I please.” “Anti hates cats? But he’s really nice!” Dark snorted. “”Nice” is not a word I would ever use to describe that man.” (JSE & MARKIPLIER CORALINE AU)
1. Chapter 1

"We're here. Muscle up." Mover 1 says to the other man. Mover 2 nods and opens up the truck to start transferring the family's stuff into their new house.

Jack rolls his eyes as Mover 2 began to struggle with the boxes already. He didn't know their names, and quite frankly, he didn't care. He didn't want to be here in the slightest.

He watches the movers for a bit longer before glancing furtively over his shoulder, then hops down the steps and moves diagonally away from the house. Jack moves towards a shrub and once he gets there, he reaches into the shrub and breaks off a forked branch. He removes the stick's red leaves, aims it like a magic stick and heads into the garden.

A minute later a kid pops up out of the bushes with a black cat in his arms. The cat wiggles out of the boy's arms and ignoring the boy's protests, he follows Jack. The boy shakes his head and climbs out of the shrub to find something to do now that he's seen his new neighbors.

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Jack explores the drained, crumbling pond. He finds an old turtle shell in the muck and holds it up. After rapping on it to make sure it's empty, he puts the shell into his shoulder bag. "Dad'll think this is cool." He muttered before continuing his exploring.

Soon he comes across a vine-covered bridge. He pushed the dead vines off the railings to get a better look. Jack aims his forked stick once more then follows it up from the pond and out the back gate. He finds a faint path leading down the steep hill and he follows it down. Halfway down, his foot sinks into the mud and his face twists into disgust. "Mom's gonna kill me for getting these dirty." He yanks his foot out of the mud, thinking to himself to take them off and hose them down before he goes inside his house.

 **SNAP**

Jack sharply turned around to face the rocks. "Hello? Who's there?" He narrowed his eyes at the rocks and picked up a small rock to throw it over the rocks. A sharp hiss cut through the silence and a cat popped out. The black cat glared at him and looked as if it wanted to murder him. "Sorry kitty, I didn't mean to hurt you." The cat rolled it's eyes and hopped onto a tree trunk. Jack took a step forward and reached out a hand to pet the cat, but quickly pulled his hand back when the cat hissed and raised his claw.

"Geez sorry," Jack grumbled. "I was just trying to pet you." He sighs and hops into the middle of a circle of mushrooms. "I probably deserve it though, for throwing a rock at you." The cat meowed as if it agreed.

"Anyway," Jack looked at the cat, "do you know where the secret well is?" The cat stared at him. "Right, you're a cat. Of course you're not going to answer me."

He raises his stick into the air and begins to chant, "All mighty and power stick, all mighty and powerful stick, show me the well!"

"One, I'm pretty sure that's not how you find a well and two, you moved here recently, right?"

Jack gave a small shriek and dropped his stick. He turned around and glared at the other kid. "Jesus, you gave me a heart attack!"

The other kid threw his hands up in front of him in defense. "Sorry, I-I am so sorry! I didn't mean to scare you, I saw you earlier and wanted to meet you!"

"It's fine." Jack reached down to pick his stick back up. "To answer your question, yes, I did just move in. And I know, it's stupid to try and find a well like that."

"Oh." The kid shifted his feet as he thought of what to say. "My name's Mark, what's yours?"

"My birth name's Sean, but I like to go by Jack." He twirls the stick around and throws an irritated glance at the direction the house was in. "So… do you know where the secret well is?"

Mark pointed at the ground beneath him. "You're standing on it."

Jack's expression turned into fear and he hopped out of the circle of mushrooms. "Why didn't you say anything!? I could have fallen in!"

"Sorry, I thought you'd be fine," Mark mumbled. "I've never fallen through it and I'm probably heavier than you." He walked over there and begin to jump where the well was. "See?"

Jack shuddered and grabbed Mark's arm to yank him off. "Don't do that! You could break it and fall in."

"Mrrow."

"See, even the cat agrees with me."

Mark snorts and moved to pick the cat up from the tree trunk. "This guy hates when I do anything that can be considered dangerous. He hisses up a storm until I stop. I'm actually surprised he didn't do that this time." He lovingly scratched between the cat's ears. "I love him though."

"He's yours?"

"Kinda. He just showed up one day and my grandma feeds him. He doesn't really stay in the house though, he likes to roam around."

"What's his name?" Jack reached out to pet him but was once again refused.

Mark snorted and continued petting the cat. "Yeah, good luck trying to pet him. He hates everyone except me and my grandma. His name's Dark."

Jack glanced down at the black cat and raised an eyebrow. "Dark?"

Mark's cheeks turned a light pink in embarrassment. "I didn't name him, my grandma did."

"Leave it up to grandma's to pick basic names," Jack chuckled.

"Ha, yeah…"

Jack twirled his stick in his hands. "What're you doing out here anyway?"

"I was looking for him." He gestured to Dark. "And I wanted to meet you."

"Why?"

"There's not many kids around here," Mark explained. "My grandma doesn't let many people with kids move here."

Jack sat down on a log and put his hands in his palms. "I smell a story."

Mark grimaced. "I'm not allowed to talk about it."

"Oh."

"MARK!"

Mark flinched. "I gotta go. My grandma's calling me. See you later?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah. See you later."

After Mark was a few feet away, he suddenly turned around and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Aw crap, I forgot to tell you! Drop the stick, it's poison oak!" Jack quickly dropped the stick with a look of disgust on his face.

"And you couldn't have told me that earlier!?" He shouted back as he wiped his hands on his shirt.

"Sorry!"

"MARK FISCHBACH!"

"I gotta go, but I'll see you later!" Mark took off running.

"Goof." Jack chuckled, shaking his head. Maybe this place wasn't so bad after all.

As he thought of heading back to the house, he glanced at the well.

"I wonder how deep it is," He muttered. He picks up a pebble and kneels down to drop it into one of the holes in the seal. Ear hovering over the hole, he counts until he hears a faint "plop" far below. "Man that's deep," He comments. "Now I especially will avoid falling down into it."

A few moments after, fat raindrops began to fall around him. Jack hissed and took off running back to his house.


	2. Chapter 2

_Stupid rain_

,Jack thought as he stared out the kitchen window. He studied the dead looking garden and its packets of seeds - pumpkins, squash, snapdragons, bleeding hearts - on the sill before turning to inspect the rash on his hand. He developed the rash from the poison oak stick.

Jack didn't at all understand why they had moved into such a crappy house. Couldn't his parents have at least tried to find somewhere more livable? He sighs and glances around the kitchen. The main part of his kitchen floor, like most of the things in the Pink Palace, is barely maintained and looked worn and faded.

He turns his attention to his mom. "I almost fell down a well yesterday, Mom."

"Uh huh." She replied, clearly not listening. Jack rolled his eyes. How long did it take to type up some stupid article on her computer?

"I would have died."

"That's nice." His Mom continued typing.

Knowing that his Mom wasn't going to respond as he wanted her to, he scratched at the rash on his hand and changed the subject. "Hmmm. So can I go out? I think it's perfect weather for gardening."

Stacy snapped her attention up from her computer. "No Sean, absolutely not! Rain makes mud, and mud makes a mess."

"But Mom," He whined, "I want to stuff _growing_ when my friends come to visit. Isn't that why we moved here?"

Stacy sighed and rubs her forehead. "Something like that. But then we had the accident."

"Wasn't my fault that you hit that truck." Jack says as he slides down in his seat.

"I never said it was." She resumes typing on her computer.

"I can't believe it. You get paid to write about plants but you don't even like dirt!"

"Sean, I don't have time for you right now." Stacy huffs. "And you have unpacking to do. _Lot's_ of unpacking."

"That sounds exciting," Jack responds, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Stacy ignored him for a few moments before remembering something. "Oh, some kid left this on the front porch." She pulls a small thing wrapped in a newspaper out of her lap. Jack gets up and walks over to take it from her. He inspects the note left on it.

 _Hey Jack, look what I found in grandma's trunk. It looks just like you!_ _-Mark_

He rips open the paper to see a mini him stare up at him.

"What is it?" Stacy asks. Jack holds the doll up for her to see.

She raises her eyebrow at it. "Aren't you too old for dolls?"

Jack shrugs. "I dunno. But isn't it cool? It looks just like me!"

Stacy studies the doll again, a bit weirded out by how much it resembled her son. It had his brown hair and wore the same exact outfit Jack wore the day before. But what stood out the most where the doll's blue button eyes. She shakes her head. "It's creepy. What's the kid's name anyway?"

"Mark." Jack inspects the dolls blue shirt. "His grandma owns this place."

"That's cool. Now leave me be and go unpack your stuff."

Jack huffed before leaving the kitchen.

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"Hey dad, how's unpacking going?"

Chase stops pulling stuff out of boxes and turns to grin at Jack. "Hey there buddy. It's going great!" He stands up and dashes to another box. "Look, I found your baby pictures!" Chase beams as he held up the book filled with pictures. Jack snorts and shook his head.

He brings his doll closer to his face. "Can you believe him?"

"Where'd you get that?" Chase asks. "It looks creepy."

"Mom said the same thing," Jack chuckles. "A kid who lives here found it in his grandma's trunk."

Chase makes a face. "He found a doll that looks exactly like you in his grandma's trunk?"

Jack shrugs his shoulders. "I guess. Anyway, do you know where the gardening tools are?"

"Isn't it pouring out there?" Chase raises an eyebrow.

"Humph." Jack crosses his arms. "It's just a little rain."

"What'd the boss say?"

"Don't even _think_ about going outside Sean McLoughlin," Jack mocked his mom.

"Then you won't be needing those tools." Chase places the photo album on his dresser. "How about you help me unpack? We can drink hot chocolate and watch a movie after?"

"Fine," Jack grumbles.


	3. Chapter 3

Jack and his dad sat in what could be a small sitting room, but for now was their makeshift living room. He didn't care for it much. The walls were a faded blue color and the bare windows were facing the dark gray rain clouds. Plus it was cold. Very cold. Jack pulls his blanket tighter around him and looked away from the small tv to glance around the room. Moving boxes were strewn all over the place which made Jack wonder how his dad had managed to fit the couch and nightstand in the room. His gaze lingering a bit longer, Jack found a few of the gardening tools. So _that's_ where they were hiding. An outline of a small door next to the gardening tools caught Jack's eye.

"Dad, what's that?"

Chase turned his attention from the tv to Jack. "Hm?"

"What's that?" Jack repeated, pointing to the outline next to the gardening tools. "It looks like a door."

Chase followed where Jack was pointing. "It _is_ a door. It probably leads to the empty apartment next door."

"Why's it under the wallpaper?"

"They probably covered it when they were splitting the house up into multiple houses."

"Do you think it'll actually lead us into the apartment next door?"

"Let's find out." Chase shrugs his blanket off as he stands up and he walks to the kitchen. He returns a few moments later with a box cutter and the oldest rusty looking key Jack has ever seen. Chase gets down on his knees and slices through the wallpaper with the box cutter. Jack watched, giddy with anticipation, as Chase unlocks the door only to reveal…. A brick wall. Jack's face fell.

He felt disappointed rise up. "Bricks?"

"Like I said, it probably happend when they were separating the house into houses." Chase sat back down next to Jack and ruffled his hair. "Sorry bud."

"It's ok," Jack muttered. "At least now we know."

They continued watching the movie for a few more minutes before a voice interrupted them. Stacy cleared her throat and both of them turned their heads.

"Shouldn't you be unpacking?" Stacy asks, eyebrow raised.

"We were unpacking," Chase protests. "We're just taking a break."

Stacy rolled her eyes. "I swear, you can't even do a simple thing like take stuff out of boxes."

Chase's eye twitched and he had to bite a response back. Jack was in the same room as them, so starting a fight would not be a bright idea. He took a deep breath and stood up. "I'll get back to unpacking."

Stacy muttered an "about time." before walking back to the kitchen to continue typing on her computer.

"What about the movie?" Jack asks.

Chase gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry Jack. We can finish it later."

Jack slumps down in his seat. "Promise?"

"Pinky promise." Chase held his pinky out to Jack and Jack squeezed it with his pinky. Flashing Jack a small smile, Chase leaves the room.

Jack huffed and glares at the kitchen. Leave it to his mom to ruin everything. He sat there for a few more minutes, pondering why his mom was so mean to his dad. The comment she made was very uncalled for. Jack knew his dad did a lot for them. Jack shook his head. It was probably one of those grown up things.

Still irritated, he stands up and turns the tv off. There was no use in keeping it on if he wanted to finish the movie with his dad later. He stretches a bit before deciding to go bug his mom.

"Mooooooommmmm," He whined as he walked into the kitchen. "I'm booooooorrreeedddd."

"Not my problem," Stacy snaps.

Jack flinched. What was her problem? Thinking about it for a moment, he walks back out of the kitchen. He didn't want to see her explode so it was best he stopped pushing her. He sat back down on the couch for a five minutes before his face lit up. He could go visit the men downstairs! They were never busy, and they seemed to like company. _And they'll pay attention to me_ , Jack thought as he put his jacket and shoes on.

"I'm going out!" Jack yelled as he opened the door.

"Be safe!" Chase called back. Jack lingered in the doorway before heading out. It seemed like Stacy didn't care what he did. Thinking that, Jack tripped over a pile of mail. Annoyed, he picked them up to exam them.

"Schneeplestein… Schneeplestein…. Schneeplestein…. Schneeplestein…." Jack concluded that none of the mail was theirs, but belonged to the man that lived upstairs.

"I guess I should give them to him," Jack mumbled. He made sure he wouldn't drop anything before heading up the stairs.

As soon as he reached the top, he knocked on the door, feeling nervous. "Um, excuse me, we got your mail." He glanced back down at the packages in his arms. He wondered what kind of doctor stuff was in them…

The door opened and a tall man in a white doctor coat stared down at him with curiosity. Jack's hands were shaking as he held out the packages to him. The doctor gave him a smile and carefully took them out of his hands.

"Thank you, I was wondering when I would get these." He pressed his packages to his chest with one arm and rubbed Jack's head with his now free hand. "You are a nice boy. You just moved in, yes?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah." He awkwardly shifted on one foot and glanced down the stairs. "My name's Jack, what's yours?" Jack mentally smacked himself. Why'd he ask such a dumb question? The doctor's name was clearly on the packages!

The doctor raised an eyebrow. "I thought your name was Sean? That's what I heard your Mutter and Vati call you."

Jack's face turned a light red in embarrassment. He didn't exactly know what "Vati" meant, but he could assume it meant father or something. But at least the doctor didn't comment on him asking his name when he already knew it. "Sean is my birth name, but I like to go by Jack."

"Ah." The doctor nodded. "That makes sense. Anyway, to answer your question, I am Dr. Henrik Von Schneeplestein. But you may call me Dr. Schneeplestein."

"That's a cool name."

Dr. Schneeplestein's smile widened. "Thank you, not many people think so. Anyway." He gripped the door handle. "I have doctor things to do. It was nice talking to you Sean." And with that, Dr. Schneeplestein closed the door.

Jack cupped his hands around his mouth to shout at the door, "IT'S JACK!" Ugh, it wasn't that hard to call him by his nickname. He stormed down the stairs. At least Mr. Jackie and Mr. Marvin called him by his nickname.


	4. Chapter 4

Jack rang Mr. Marvin's and Mr. Jackie's doorbell. He could hear frenzied woofing as their dogs ran out into the hall. A minute later, Mr. Marvin opened the door.

"Hello Jack," He greeted. "King, Robbie, down boys! It's only Jack. Come in dear," He ushered Jack in. "Want some tea?"

The house smelled of roses and dogs. It was an odd combination, but Jack was used to it by now.

"Yes please," said Jack. Mr. Marvin led him into a dusty room, which he called a parlor, before taking off to the kitchen to pour Jack some tea. On the walls of the parlor were photographs of Mr. Marvin and Mr. Jackie, and theater programs in frames. Once upon a time, the two were famous magicians. Well, Mr. Marvin was the magician. Mr. Jackie was his assistant.

"Hey Jack," Mr. Jackie greeted. He was sitting in an armchair reading a book.

"Hello." Jack replied sitting on the arm of Mr. Jackie's chair. He leaned onto Mr. Jackie to peer at what he was reading. "What're you reading?"

"Some weird horror story I found at the store. Now get off the chair before Marvin comes back and has a fit." Knowing he was right, Jack slid off the chair and took a seat on the couch next to Mr. Jackie.

Mr. Marvin returned a few moments later with a white mug and a cookie. He handed them to Jack and sat down next to him.

"So, didn't we tell you to stay away from that well?" Mr. Marvin asked, eyebrow raised.

On the first day Jack and his family had moved in, Mr. Marvin and Mr. Jackie made it a point of telling Jack how dangerous the well was and they wanted Jack to be sure he kept away from it.

"But how can I stay away from it if I didn't know where it was?" Jack shot back. "I went exploring so I knew where it was, so I could avoid it properly."

Mr. Jackie shook his head while chuckling. "He's got you there Marv."

Mr. Marvin sighed and ruffled Jack's hair. "I suppose. But," He gave Jack a sharp look, "I don't want to see you anywhere near the well. We meant it when we said it was dangerous."

"Alright," Jack grumbled. "I'll stay away from the well." He dipped his cookie into his tea and tried his best not to get crumbs on their couch. Mr. Marvin chuckles and reaches over on the table in front of him for a napkin. He sets it in Jack's lap.

"There. Now you don't have to worry about that."

"Thanks."

"Want me to read your tea leaves after you're finished?" Mr.Marvin asks. "They'll tell me your future." Jack shrugged.

"Sure."

Jack quickly chugged down most of the tea, leaving only a bit left. Mr.Marvin held his hand out and Jack gave him the mug. Placing the mug into the coffee table in front of them, he swirled it three times. Peering into the mug, Mr.Marvin frowns.

"Oh Jack," He mutters, "you're in terrible danger." Jack looked alarmed.

"I am!?"

Mr.Jackie snorts and set down his book. "Don't be silly Marv. Stop scaring him and pass me the cup."

Jack picks up the mug and hands it to Mr.Jackie. He looks into the cup and frowned.

"Oh dear," he said. "You were right Marv. Heisin danger."

"See! I wasn't lying!"

"What do you see?" asked Jack.. "What am I in danger from?"

Mr.Jackie and Mr.Marvin stared at him with worry. "I didn't say," said Mr.Marvin. "Tea leaves aren't reliable for that kind of thing. Not really. They're good for general, but not for specifics." This slightly alarmed Jack.

"What should I do then?"

"Just…" Mr.Jackie paused. He didn't know what to tell Jack. "Just be careful, alright? Don't wander off into the woods."

"I agree with Jackie. Until we can figure out what the danger is, that's the best advice we can give you." Mr.Marvin glanced at the clock hung up onto the wall.

"Wait, thereisa thing we can give you." Mr.Jackie stood up from the armchair and went over to the fireplace. On the mantelpiece was a small jar, and Mr.Jackie took off the top of the jar and began to pull things out of it. There was a tiny green china eyeball, a strange little brass coin, two paper clips, and a stone with a hole in it.

He handed Jack the stone with the hole in it.

"What's it for?" Jack asked. The hole went all the way through the middle of the stone. He held it up to the window and looked through it.

"It might help," Mr.Jackie said. "They're good for bad things, sometimes."

"I suppose your parents would want you home by now. It's getting pretty dark by now."

"I guess." Jack stands up and moves to the door.

"Here," Mr. Marvin stands up. "I'll walk you home."

"But it's just upstairs!"

Mr.Marvin shook his head. "Doesn't matter. I want to make sure you get there safely. I'll be back in a few minutes Jackie, make sure you feed the dogs."

"Don't worry, I will. Have a nice night Jack."

"You too." Jack waved Mr.Jackie goodbye and followed Mr.Marvin out the door.

"Wow it sure is misty," He commented. He clutched the stone tightly in his hand.

"It is," Mr.Marvin agreed. "I know I've said this a bunch of times already, butpleasebe careful, Jack."

"I will." Jack gave him a hug before opening the door and stepping inside his house.

"I'm home," He called out.

"Dinner's ready bud," his dad called back. "Come eat."

Jack kicked his shoes off and shrugged off his jacket. He neatly placed his shoes in the shoe box under the coat hangers and hung up his coat before walking to the kitchen. He sat down at the table and Chase placed a bowl in front of him.

"Are wereallyeating cup of noodles for dinner again?" Jack made a face as he pushed the bowl away from him. At some point in his life he loved cup of noodles. Now because of how often his parents made them, he hated them.

"Well I'msorrythat we're not rich," Stacy snapped. She reached over and pushed the bowl closer to him. "And I thought youlovedthese noodles you asked for them all the time."

His dad angrily got up and looked his mom in the eye "Stacy for the last time he asked for them when he wasfournot now!"

"Wellmaybeif he would talk to me I would know!"

"He says almost every day that he dislikes Cup of Noodles! Maybe if youactuallypaid attention to him you'd notice."

"Likeyoupay attention to him! All you ever do is throw shit into things and do dumb tricks for your fucking stupid internet show!"

No longer hungry, Jack quietly stood up and left the kitchen. Neither of his parents noticed which was probably for the best. If his mom noticed, she'd get angrier and snap at him. Which would, in turn, make his father angrier and try to defend him, and the arguing would just get worse.

He walked upstairs to his room and put his pajamas on.

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Jack lay awake in his bed. His parents had stopped fighting a few hours ago but it was only now that he was drifting to sleep. And he was almost asleep when something wentt-t-t-t-t-t.He sat up in bed.

Something wentkreee……..

………..aaaak

Jack scrambled out of bed and looked down the hall, but saw nothing. Deciding to check it out anyway, he walked down the hall. From his parent's room, he could hear his dad snoring and an occasional sleep muttering, which was his mom.

As he walked downstairs he wondered if his mind was just playing tricks on him, when he noticed that the small door in their makeshift living room was open. And it wasn't bricked up.

Jack was astonished. He crouched down in front of it and peered into the void.I must be dreaming.

There was a cold, musty smell coming through the door. It smelled like something very old and very slow.

Jack ignored the fear building up into his chest and crawled through the door.

He wondered what the empty apartment would be like if that was where the tunnel led. He soon crawled to the end of the tunnel. He felt uneasy. There was something very familiar about the door.

He opened and crawled out. Standing up, he looked around in awe.

The carpet beneath his feet was the same as the one in his house. The wallpaper was the same. The picture they had hanging up in their makeshift living room was the same. He shook his head, confused. It was like he hadn't left his house.

From across the hall, the kitchen light was on. Figuring it was his mom getting a drink of water, Jack walked into the kitchen.

"Mom?" Jack stopped in the kitchen door. Chase was standing at the stove humming as he cooked. "Oh. Dad, what're you doing cooking this late at night?"

Chase turned his head to greet him, and Jack breath caught in his throat. His father had green button eyes. Chase beamed with happiness, ignorant of Jack's fear. "Hey there bud! You're just in time for dinner!"

"You're not my dad. My dad doesn't have b-b-buh…" Jack pointed to his eyes, too scared to continue his sentence.

"B-b-b-buttons? Do you like them?" The man lightly teased, tapping one of them. Not waiting for an answer, he turned back around to poke at whatever was cooking on the stove. "I'm yourother fathersilly. Now go tell your other father that dinner's ready."

Jack stared at his "Other Father" in confusion. "But you just said your, my other father? Do you want me to tell you dinner's ready?"

The Other Father laughed. "You have another Other Father you goof. I suppose you can call me Anti if you'd like. To make things less confusing."

Jack nodded and turned around to leave the room. Now that he thought about it more, Anti didn't look as much like his dad like he thought he did. Anti's skin was as white as paper and he was taller and thinner. And his voice sounded a bit distorted and gravelly.

Jack walked down the hall to where his dad's office was. He opened the door to see a man in there, tossing tea bags into a bunch of mugs spread around the room. Assuming this was his Other Father, Jack watched in awe. His Other Father was able to get the tea bags into the mugs in one shot, something his dad couldn't do very often.

"Hey there bud!"

His voice startled Jack. Unlike Anti, this man sounded eerily like his dad. And now that he was getting a better look at him, helookedlike an identical copy to his dad. Minus the orange button eyes.

"Hello," Jack said. "I-I mean, he said to tell you dinner is ready."

His Other Father grinned. "Great! I'm starving."


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey look, I'm not dead! What a surprise.**

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Arriving at the table, Jack was surprised. He had figured that they would be like his parents and make something simple, like Instant Noodles. The food laid out on the table was a feast! There was roasted chicken, baked potatoes, rice, sweet rolls, and cornbread. But Jack was hesitant to eat the food in front of him. Sure it looked delicious, but was it safe? How did he know they weren't planning on poisoning him?

"Go on," His Other Father insisted. "Anti's food is the best!" He makes a show of eating some of the chicken and Anti rolls his eyes.

Jack chuckles a bit and relaxed. Both of them were eating the food and seemed to be fine. Or at least, neither of them had dropped dead yet. He reached forward to serve himself a bit of each.

"It is good," Jack admitted after taking a bite of the chicken. "Thank you for feeding me."

Anti beamed. "It's no problem! You're our child after all, and we've been waiting for you for a _long time_. "

"For me?"

His Other Father nodded. "Yep. It wasn't the same without you bud."

"But we knew you'd arrive someday," Anti's grin grew wider. "And now we can be a proper family. More chicken?"

"No thank you." Jack wiped his mouth with his napkin. "Can I have something to drink?"

"Of course!"

Anti snapped his fingers and jugs came flying from the kitchen. Paying close attention, Jack noticed that the jugs weren't floating like he first thought they were. They were actually being held up by red strings.

How strange, He thought. But also really cool.

"Which one would you like to drink? As you can see, we have orange juice, apple juice, sweet tea, chocolate milk, and strawberry milk."

"Strawberry milk please."

With a flick of his wrist, Anti made the strings lift the strawberry milk jug to pour it into Jack's cup.

"Thank you." Jack took a sip of his drink and was pleasantly surprised that it tasted completely like strawberries. Normally things like chocolate milk and strawberry milk still faintly tasted like milk.

"Our personal favorite is apple juice," Anti said. Other Chase nodded.

"Yep!"

"Apple juice is pretty good," Jack agreed. "But strawberry milk is my favorite."

"Because you like strawberries?"

"Uh-huh."

"Noted," Anti mumbled to himself. He returned his attention back onto his food and continued eating. "Pass me another sweet roll, dear."

Other Chase did as he was told. Though for a moment, it had seemed as if he didn't want to touch Anti. Jack shrugged it off. He was probably just imagining things. But speaking of Anti, he had told Jack that they were his other parents. But if his Other Father looked exactly like his dad, why didn't Anti look exactly like his mom?

"Hey Anti," Jack said carefully. "If you guys are my other parents, why don't you look like my mom?"

"Hmmm, that's a good question," Anti went silent and stared at the wall, thinking. "I suppose I don't look like her because your other parents are supposed to make you happy. And she doesn't make you very happy, does she." Anti's last sentence didn't at all sound like a question. It was a statement.

"No," Jack quietly agreed. "She's always busy on her computer, and she likes to start fights with my dad. I never knew I had other parents." He changed the subject. Talking about his mom that way had always made him feel uncomfortable. Although it was true, it still felt wrong.

"Of course you do. Everyone has other parents." Anti's green button eyes were gleaming. Other Chase shifted in his seat, but Jack didn't notice.

"Really?"

"Uh-huh! And as soon as you're done eating, why don't we go outside and play a game?" Anti excitedly taps his fingers on the table. "It'll be lots of fun."

"What kind of game?"

"An exploring game. We all go outside and explore the grounds, see who finds the most things."

Anti was giving Jack an excited look. He made Jack feel bad for what he was going to say next.

"I'd love to play but I... I need to get back to my other parents."

"But we're your other parents."

Jack gave Anti a small smile. "I meant my other other parents. You know, set number one?"

"Ah, of course." Anti slouched in his seat a bit, disappointment clear across his face. "But do you have to go so soon? I mean, you just got here and we've been waiting for you for such a long time..."

"Yeah, don't you want to stay a little longer?" Other Chase asked. "They won't know you're gone. You could explore the house, visit our neighbors, look at your room?"

Guilt ate away at Jack. On one hand, he didn't want his parents to know he was gone and freak out and get mad at him. But on the other hand, this place was really cool. And the sad and disappointed looks Anti and his Other Father were giving him made him feel worse.

"Ok," Jack caved. "I'll stay here a little longer."

Anti's face brightened up, and he stood up from his seat. "Great! You go on and head up to your room, play with your toys. Your father and I will clean up the table and wash the dishes."

Jack stood up, and his plate was whisked away. Giving his other parents one last look, he headed upstairs to where his room should be. Stepping into his room, Jack wasn't prepared. His room here was so much different than his first room! The paint on the walls were pink and green stripes, which wasn't as interesting as the rest of the room. The most interesting thing about his room was his toys were alive.

Though more than half of the toys in his room were things he couldn't recall ever owning, they were still an amazing sight. Small wind-up angels and airplanes flew threw the air, stuffed animals wandered around the room, occasionally pausing to wave at him, and many other things.

Jack sat down on his bed. While his room here was amazing, he didn't think he'd like to sleep in there. With all the toys moving around and doing whatever they pleased, he wouldn't be surprised if they woke him up in the middle of the night. Nor would he surprised at waking up to see toys too close for comfort. That would certainly give him a heart attack.

"Do you like it?"

"Hm?" Jack turned to see Anti and his other father standing in the doorway, holding hands.

"Do you like your room?" Anti repeated. "I put a lot of work into it."

"Oh, uh, yeah I like it. It's really cool."

"How about we play that game I mentioned during dinner?"

Jack shook his head. "I'm sorry, I can't. I have to get back to my other home before parents one see that I'm missing." Anti frowned and once again guilt ate at Jack. "I'll come back tomorrow though! Then we can play the exploring game!" He scratched at the rash on his hand. He had forgotten about how itchy it.

Anti still didn't look very happy, but his expression did brighten up a little.

"Alright then, tomorrow it is." He gave Jack a smile. "How about we take care of that rash of yours and send you off?"

"With what stuff? My dad didn't know how to get rid of it."

"There's a doctor living above us, remember?"

"Dr. Schneeplestein's here too?" Jack stared at Anti in confusion. How was he here as well?

"Yes and no. He's the Other Dr. Schneeplestein. And I'm sure that he has something lying around to get rid of your rash." Anti held out his hand. "We'll walk you upstairs."

"Ok."

Jack took Anti's hand and allowed him to lead him downstairs and outside. Outside of the house, nearly everything was the same, except for two things. The moon was full and there were more stars in the sky. Jack didn't get much time to stare up at them because he was soon in front of the doctor's house.

Anti knocked on the door and called out, "Doctor, we have a guest in need of your assistance!"

The door opened and the Other Dr. Schneeplestein ushered them in. Jack was pulled aside and was frantically inspected.

"If you look at his right hand, you'll find what needs tending to," Anti said in amusement.

"Oh! You have a rash. Don't worry, I can get rid of it!"

Other Dr. Schneeplestein let go of Jack and disappeared out of sight. Now that he wasn't be checked over and shook, Jack was able to look around the room. The doctor had many shelves in the room, all filled with medical stuff. Some shelves were filled with tools and some were filled with glass containers.

Other Dr. Schneeplestein returned two minutes later from wherever he had gone with a small container of some kind of paste.

He opened the container and said to Jack, "Give me your hand."

Jack held his hand out and watched as the other doctor rubbed some of the paste onto his hand.

"Your rash should be gone by morning." Other Dr. Schneeplestein closed the container and reached into his coat pocket to pull out a lollipop. "Here, for being a good patient."

"Oh, uh, thank you. For both healing my rash and giving me a lollipop." Jack stuck the lollipop into his pocket.

"Doc, I need to talk to you for a sec." Anti pulled Other Dr. Schneeplestein farther into the room, so Jack couldn't hear their conversation.

"How does your rash feel?" Other Chase asked.

"Not as itchy."

Jack stared at Other Dr. Schneeplestein, taking in his appearance. He looked nearly identical to the Dr. Schneeplestein that lived in Jack's world. The only things different were Other Dr. Schneeplestein's partially green hair and his blue buttons. He couldn't say whether or not their personalities were the same though, since he's only talked to Dr. Schneeplestein in his world only once.

"Alright, goodbye doc." Anti took hold of Jack's other hand and walked him out the door.

"Bye Doctor!" Jack shouted. "And thank you!"

Anti flashed him a grin as he led them downstairs.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay longer?" He asked Jack as they stepped inside.

Jack shook his head. "Sorry..."

Anti gave him a tight smile. "That's alright."

They followed him to the small door.

"Hug me goodbye," Anti said as he opened his arms.

Jack did as he was told and Anti squeezed him.

"We'll be counting the minutes until you come back."

Jack gave him a small smile and pulled away. He quickly hugged his other father before opening the door and crawling through.

"Goodbye! See you tomorrow!" Anti called out.

"Bye!"

Soon Jack was pushing through the door and he was back in his own home. He didn't hear his parents frantically looking for him, so it was safe to say that they were still asleep. With that in mind, Jack quietly walked back upstairs and to his room. There he fell into a dreamless sleep.

( ͡ ͜ʖ ͡)=Σ((( つل͜)つ

 **I want to promise I'll update more, but I get distracted so easily and procrastinate so hard.** **Also, I know it's pretty stereotypical to portray Stacy as a bad person since no one technically really knows anything about her, but now my reasoning for it has been revealed! I did it so I had an excuse to have Anti as the Other Mother.**


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